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RUSSIA AND TURKEY. 



THE 



EASTERN QUESTION, 



HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED; 



WITH NOTES ON THE RESOURCES OF RUSSIA AND TURKEY, 

AND AN ABSTRACT OF THEIR TREATIES 

WITH THE UNITED STATES. 



By JAMES M. BUGBEE. 



W<\i\^ fHa^s* 




BOSTON: 
JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY, 

(Late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co.) 
• 1877. 



7]B7^ 



/O 



S 



Copyright, 1877, 
By JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO. 



FRANKLIN PRESS: 
RAND, AVERY, AND COMPANY, 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 
Historical Statement of the Eastern Ques- 
tion 7 

The Russian Government 57 

The Turkish Government 65 

Treaties y^ 

International Rules for the Government of 

Neutrals 79 

Legations in the United States, Russia, and 

Turkey 81 



HISTORICAL STATEMENT 



EASTERN QUESTION, 

ESPECIALLY OF THE 

CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE PRESENT WAR. 



The desire of the Russians to obtain posses- 
sion of Constantinople is said to be as old as 
Russian nationality, and is founded on the idea 
that the Tsars — as the successors of the Byzantine 
rulers, and the descendants of Caesar Augustus — 
ought to rule in the Holy City on the Bosphorus, 
in place of the infidels who hold in cruel bond- 
age their brothers of the Slavonic race and of 
the Orthodox Church. " The position of the Rus- 
sian Christians under the Tartar domination," says 
Mr. Wallace, in his recent work on Russia, '' was 
very like the present position of the Christians in 
Turkey. For some time after the conquest, Rus- 

7 



8 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

sia was ruled as Bulgaria is now; then she 
obtained autonomy similar to that of Servia and 
Roumania at the present day ; and ultimately she 
gained complete independence. Thus the Rus- 
sians long formed the vanguard in the cause of 
Slavonic emancipation. They were the first of 
the Slavonic people to fall under the Tartar yoke, 
and the first to emancipate themselves. This 
they have not forgotten ; and we cannot wonder 
that they should now sympathize with those cog- 
nate races which are striving to follow their 
example. The epigrammatic saying, that the 
sympathy of the Russian people with the Ser- 
vians and Bulgarians is mere 'philological senti- 
ment/ cannot be accepted by any one who knows 
the history of Eastern Europe." 

Alison, the historian of Modern Europe, says, 
*' Encamped for four centuries in Europe, the 
Turks have deviated in no respect from the man- 
ners and customs of their Asiatic forefathers.^ 

1 This statement is subject to some modification at the present 
day. The Turks have re-organized their mihtary estabhshment in 
accordance with modern ideas, and have, within the present year, 
assembled representatives of the people in a legislative body. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 9 

Although, from the day that the cannon of Mo- 
hammed the Second opened the breach in the 
walls of Constantinople, — which still exists, to 
attest the fall of the Emperor of the East, — they 
have been undisputed masters of the fairest and 
richest dominion upon earth ; yet the great body 
of them still retain the primitive customs and 
habits which they brought with them from the 
mountains of Koordistan. They have in no de- 
gree either shared in the improvement, or adopted 
the manners, or acquired the knowledge, of their 
European neighbors. Notwithstanding their close 
proximity to, and constant intercourse with, the 
democratic commercial communities of Modern 
Europe, they are yet the devout followers of Mo- 
hammed : notwithstanding that they ever}^where 
admit that the star of the crescent is waning be- 
fore that of the cross, they still adhere in all 
their institutions to the precepts of the Koran. 
They rely with implicit faith on the aid of the 
Prophet, although they are well aware that the fol- 
lowers of Christ are ultimately to expel them from 
Europe ; and themselves point to the gate by 
which the Muscovite battalions are to enter 



lo THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

when they place the cross upon the dome of St. 
Sophia/' 

The Eastern question first rose into European 
importance in the reign of Catherine II., who 
formed the project of resuscitating the Byzantine 
Empire. It is a remarkable fact that the position 
now taken by the Russian Government with regard 
to the oppressive and barbarous acts of the Turk- 
ish Government finds its counterpart, to some ex- 
tent, in the position taken by the Ottoman power 
in the time of Catherine. In 1768 the Turks 
interfered to check the designs of Russia upon 
Poland by taking arms in support of the liberties 
and independence of the Poles. In the present 
instance, Russia interferes to preserve the auton- 
omy of the tributary States of the Turkish Em- 
pire, and to protect the religious liberties and 
independence of the Christian subjects of the 
Porte. 

The interference of the Turks in the first in- 
stance was attended by the most disastrous conse- 
quences. They showed themselves unequal to 
the science of modern warfare ; their armies and 
navies were destroyed ; and Russian forbearance 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. il 

alone prevented the fall of Constantinople. In 
giving up the contest, the Turkish ruler said, 
^' Seeing our troops will no longer light the Rus- 
sians, it is necessary to conclude peace.'' By the 
treaty which followed, the Russians obtained the 
free navigation of all the Turkish seas, a passage 
through the Dardanelles, and the establishment 
of Russian consuls in the Turkish seaports. 

In 1787, the^urks, taking alarm at the visit of 
Catherine to the Crimea, and her personal con- 
ference wdth the Emperor of Germany, rushed 
into another war, in which they were reduced to 
such an extent, that Great Britain and Prussia 
considered it necessary for their own future w^el- 
fare to check the progress of the Russian pow^r. 
"Mr. Pitt," says Alison, " put a bridle on the 
Tsar, and, in conjunction wdth Prussia, arrested 
the march of the united Muscovite and Austrian 
armies w^hen on the high road to Constantinople." 
Then was established the policy which has since 
governed the British councils, — the maintenance 
of the Ottoman power, — a policy which has 
greatly increased in importance wdth the extension 
of the British Empire in India. 



12 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

It is not necessary to refer, except in the brief- 
est manner, to the combinations which were made, 
and to the contests which took place, during the 
interval between the peace of 1791 (by which 
Russia was allowed to retain a large portion of 
the territory which she had conquered) and the 
Crimean war, as the policy then adopted was 
always adhered to ; but there were times when it 
became necessary to curb the Turks as well as 
to protect them. 

In the closing years of the eighteenth century, 
the Turks acted in concert with England and 
Russia in opposing the French power ; but, subse- 
quently. Napoleon obtained the ascendency in the 
councils of the divan, and drew the Turks to his 
support. But in 1807 he treacherously deserted 
them. By the secret articles of the Treaty of 
Tilsit, it was stipulated, that, in certain contin- 
gencies, France and Russia would unite their 
efforts ^' to wrest from the vexations and oppres- 
sion of the Turkish Empire all its provinces in 
Europe, Roumelia and Constantinople alone ex- 
cepted." In the beginning of 18 10 Moldavia 
and Wallachia were annexed to Russia ; and 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 13 

the Danube, from the Austrian frontier to the 
sea, was declared to be the southern European 
boundary of that empire. During the ensuing 
two years, Russia prosecuted the war against 
Turkey with vigor and success. But in 18 12 
she found it necessary to gather all her forces for 
the impending conflict with Napoleon. Peace 
was made with Turkey ; and the Pruth, instead 
of the Danube, was agreed upon as the boundary 
between the two nations. " Made aware," said 
Napoleon, *^ by my enemies, of the stipulations of 
Erfurth, and by Austria of the project for the 
partition of Turkey, which I had proposed to her, 
the Turks abandoned themselves, without reserve, 
to the counsels of England. The British ambas- 
sador soon resumed all his former credit with the 
divan." 

The Servians, who had rebelled in 1806, and 
captured Belgrade, became subject again to the 
Turkish power after the treaty of 1812 ; but in 
18 1 5 they obtained the right of local self- 
government. 

In 182 1 the Greeks rebelled against Turkish 
rule ; and their independence was acknowledged 



14 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

by the Porte in 1829. The barbarities practised 
by the Turks in their efforts to suppress this 
rebellion excited the indignation and horror of 
civilized nations. The Turkish Government re- 
pudiated the efforts of the other European 
powers to negotiate in behalf of the Greeks, 
and in so doing placed itself on the platform 
adopted by the Congress of Laybach in 182 1, 
that " Almighty Wisdom, in dividing the universe 
into different countries, has assigned to each a 
sovereign, into whose hands the reins of absolute 
authority over the nations subject to his domin- 
ion are placed.'' This is the principle upon 
\vhich the sovereign powers of Europe have 
always acted. They can ignore it in the case 
of Turkey, only by assuming, that as an alien 
in blood, language, and religion, she is to be 
dealt with in an exceptional manner. The ex- 
asperated state of the public feeling against 
Turkey on account of the Greek war is shown 
in the battle of Navarino, — that "untoward 
event," as the Duke of Wellington described it. 
The commanders of the allied naval forces in 
the Mediterranean (those of England, France, 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 15 

and Russia) entered the port of Navarino, where 
the Turkish fleet was anchored ; and, although 
war had not been declared, placed their ships 
in such a position as to make a colUsion almost 
inevitable. They succeeded in tempting the 
Turks into firing the first shot, and then retali- 
ated by destroying their fleet of a hundred and 
thirty vessels. It was a frightful retaliation ; 
but, after the excesses of the Turks, it was 
hailed with satisfaction by the civilized world. 

In 1832 the Egyptians rebelled against Turk- 
ish rule, and, under the lead of Ibrahim Pacha, 
had such success, that the very existence of the 
Turkish Government in Europe was threatened. 
The Porte appealed to England first for aid ; 
and the refusal to respond to that appeal has 
been a lasting subject of reproach for the short- 
sightedness of the party then in power. In its 
extremity, the Porte applied to Russia ; and that 
power seized the opportunity which its compli- 
ance afforded to obtain an ascendency over the 
Turkish councils. Out of this grew the treaty 
of Unkiar Skelessi, which has occupied a large 
space in the politics of Europe. It was provided 



1 6 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

that there should be an alliance, offensive and 
defensive, between the two powers, in pursuance 
of which Russia agreed to put all her fleets at 
the disposal of the Porte. This was the sub- 
stance of the public treaty; but there was a 
secret article, which provided that the " Ottoman 
Porte should be bound, in virtue of its obliga- 
tions toward Russia, to close the Straits of the 
Dardanelles ; that is to say, not to permit any 
ship-of-war of other foreign powers to enter 
these straits under any pretence whatever." In 
1838 Great Britain made a treaty of commerce 
with Turkey, which gave it all the advantages 
accorded to the most favored nations, and 
opened the Dardanelles and the Black Sea to 
her commercial vessels. 

In 1839 hostilities broke out again between the 
Turks and the Egyptians ; and the successes of 
the latter again threatened the overthrow of Turk- 
ish rule in Europe. The British Government was 
wise enough, on this occasion, to see the necessity 
of making the question one in which all the great 
powers of Europe had an interest. Under the 
lead of Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 1 7 

entered, with that power, into an engagement to 
maintain the territorial integrity of Turkey. The 
naval power of England humbled the Egyptian 
pretensions ; and a settlement followed, by which 
Egypt became a tributary of the Ottoman power. 
A new treaty was made between Turkey, the Allied 
Powers, and France, by which the affairs of the 
East were regulated until the breaking-out of the 
great war of 1854. By that treaty, the Straits of 
the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles were " to 
remain permanently closed against all foreign 
vessels-of-war as long as the Ottoman Porte shall 
enjoy peace.'' 

We now come to the period of the Crimean 
war. Some account of the immediate causes 
which led to that war, and the results which the 
war accomplished, or, rather, what it failed to 
accomplish, are necessary to a proper under- 
standing of the present condition of affairs. 

In 1849 Russia and Austria made a demand 
upon the Porte for the rendition of Kossuth, and 
other Hungarian and Polish refugees, who had 
sought an asylum on Turkish soil. The demand 
was resisted ; and the attitude then assumed by 



1 8 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

Turkey as a defender of freedom went a long v/ay ■ 
towards securing sympathy and support, espe- 
cially among the English people, at a later day, 
and when the Turks were threatened on other 
grounds. 

In 1850 the French president, Louis Napoleon, 
with a view, it is supposed, of diverting the atten- 
tion of his people from their domestic concerns, 
began *' in cold blood " to agitate the long-for- 
gotten question of the rights belonging to the 
Latin churches in the control and usufruct of the 
holy places at Palestine, of which the Turks were 
the owners. The Russian Government hastened 
to support the claims of the Orthodox Church, of 
which it is the head. The Turks appear to have 
been indifferent as to the rival claims of the Greek 
and Latin churches, and were anxious only to ad- 
just matters so as to satisfy the champions of 
both ; that is, France and Russia. 

" A crowd of monks with bare foreheads stood 
quarrelling for a key, at the sunny gates of a 
church in Palestine ; but beyond and above, tow- 
ering high in the misty North, men saw the ambi- 
tion of the Tsars.'' ^ 

J- Kin;:^iake's Invasion of the Crimea. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 19 

The difference about the holy places might 
have been settled without recourse to arms ; but, 
before its adjustment, it became complicated, by 
Russian diplomacy, with another question ; name- 
ly, the form of a guaranty of rights and immuni- 
ties to the Christian churches in Turkey. Under 
this the Emperor Nicholas appears to have had 
in view a Russian protectorate over the entire 
Greek Church in the empire of his southern 
neighbor. 

In Januar}^, 1853, the emperor, in an interview 
with the British envoy at St. Petersburg, said, 
'^ You know the dreams and plans in which the 
Empress Catherine was in the habit of indulging : 
these were handed down to our time. But, while 
I inherited immense territorial possessions, I did 
not inherit those visions, — those intentions, if 
you like to call them so : on the contrary, my 
country is so vast, so happily circumstanced in 
every way, that it w^ould be unreasonable in me 
to desire more territory or more power than I 
possess: on the contrar}^, I am the first to tell 
you, that our great, perhaps our only danger, is 
that which would arise from an extension given 



20 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

to an empire already too large/' He then went 
on to say that Turkey had fallen into such a state 
of decrepitude, that, eager as they were for the 
prolonged existence of the " man," he might sud- 
denly die on their hands. " We cannot,'' he said, 
" resuscitate what is dead : if the Turkish Em- 
pire falls, it falls to rise no more ; and I put it to 
you, therefore, whether it is not better to be pro- 
vided beforehand for a contingency than to in- 
cur the chaos, confusion, and certainty of a 
European war, — all of which must attend the 
catastrophe, if it should occur unexpectedly, and 
before some ulterior system has been sketched." 

Subsequently the em_peror sent for the British 
envoy, and, after some preliminary conversation 
as to the disposal of the sick man's estate, divulged 
his scheme, as follows : " The principalities [for- 
merly Moldavia and Wallachia, now Roumania] 
are, in fact, an independent state, under my pro- 
tection. This miofht so continue. Servia mi.^dit 

o o 

receive the same form of government. So, again, 
with Bulgaria : there seems to be no reason why 
this province should not form an independent 
state. As to Egypt, I quite understand the im- 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 21 

portance to England of that territory. I can then 
only say, that if, in the event of a distribution of 
the Ottoman succession upon the fall of the em- 
pire, you should take possession of Egypt, I shall 
have no objection to offer. I would say the same 
thing of Candia : that island might suit you ; and 
I do not see why it should not become an English 
possession.'' 

The British representative gave no encourage- 
ment to the proposition ; and the Tsar, baffled in 
that direction, pressed his demand for an engage- 
ment, on the part of the Porte, '' to secure forever 
to the Orthodox Church and its clergy all the 
rights and immunities which they had already 
enjoyed, and those of which they were possessed 
from ancient times." The Turkish council re- 
fused to enter into any such engagement; and 
diplomatic intercourse between the two powers 
was suspended on the last of May, 1853. 

The change of the issue, wliich had been 
brought about for the aggrandizement of Russia, 
made it for the interest of France to join Eng- 
land, Austria, and Prussia in giving a qualified 
support to the Porte in resisting the Russian 



22 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

demands. On the 9th of April, 1854, the repre- 
sentatives of the four powers above named, in 
conference at Vienna, adopted a protocol, in 
which they declared, that, in that solemn moment, 
their governments remained united in the double 
object of maintaining the territorial integrity of 
the Ottoman Empire, and of consolidating, in an 
interest so much in conformity with the sentimicnts 
of the Sultan, and by every means compatible 
with his independence and sovereignty, the civil 
and religious rights of the Christian subjects of 
the Porte. 

The Russians had entered Moldavia on the 2d 
of July, 1853, but did not declare war until the 
I St of November following. The Sultan, with 
the consent of the four powers, had declared war 
on the 5th of October, 1853. On the loth of 
April, 1854, the day after the adoption of the 
Vienna protocol, a treaty of alliance was formed 
between France and England. It is unnecessary 
for the purposes of this work to give an account 
of the operations of the allied forces. The re- 
sults of the contest are disclosed in the Treaty 
of Paris, which was ratified on the 27th of April, 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 23 

1856. Great Britain, Austria, France, Russia, 
and Sardinia declared the Sublime Porte admitted 
to participate in the advantages of the public law 
and system (co?ice?'t) of Europe ; they engaged to 
respect the independence of the Ottoman Empire, 
and guaranteed in common the strict observance 
of that engagement; and they declared that they 
would, in consequence, consider any act tending 
to its violation as a question of general interest. 
The ancient rule of the Turkish Empire — pro- 
hibiting ships-of-war of foreign powers from en- 
tering the Straits of the Dardanelles and the 
Bosphorus, so long as the Porte is at peace — was 
re-established. The Black Sea was neutralized : 
its waters and its ports were thrown open to the 
mercantile marine of every nation : but the flag- 
of-war, either of the powers possessing its coasts 
(except as stipulated in an appended convention 
between Russia and Turkey), or of any other 
power, was '' formally and in perpetuity inter- 
dicted.'' 

Reciting the fact that the Sultan had issued 
a firman ameliorating the condition of his sub- 
jects without distinction of religion or race, and 



24 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

had communicated the same to the contracting 
parties, the treaty states, that "it is clearly under- 
stood that it cannot, in any case, give to the 
said powers the right to interfere, either collec- 
tively or separately, in the relations of His Maj- 
esty the Sultan with his subjects, nor in the 
internal administration of his empire." 

It was provided that the principalities of Wal- 
lachia and Moldavia should continue to enjoy, 
under the sovereignty of the Porte and "under 
the guaranty of the contracting powers," acting 
collectively, the privileges and immunities of 
which they were then possessed. The Porte 
engaged to preserve to the principalities and to 
Servia their independent and national adminis- 
tration, as well as full liberty of worship, of 
legislation, of commerce, and of navigation. 

Great Britain, France, and Austria entered 
into a special engagement at the same time, 
in which they jointly and severally guaranteed 
the independence and integrity of the Ottoman 
Empire, and declared that any infraction of the 
stipulations of the Treaty of Paris would be con- 
sidered by them as a casus belli. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 25 

The reforms promised by the Sultan, and com- 
municated to the treaty-powers, guaranteed to 
all Ottoman subjects alike, i, equality before 
the law; 2, religious liberty; 3, justice without 
sale, denial, or delay; 4, local autonomy; 5, se- 
curity from oppressive taxation. Under the au- 
thority of a firman issued by the Sultan on the 
12th November, 1861, the principalities of Wal- 
lachia and Moldavia were united under the name 
of Roumania. 

Before proceeding to give an account of the 
acts immediately preceding the present w^ar, it 
may be well to advert briefly to the failure of 
the Turkish Government to carry out the reforms 
which it has from time to time promised and 
promulgated. Turkey in Europe contains a pop- 
ulation of 8,315,000, of which only 1,000,000 are 
Turks, or Ottomans; the rest are, — Slavonians, of 
which the estimated number is 4,000,000; Greeks, 
900,000; Armenians, 200,000; Jews, 70,000; Al- 
banians, 820,000; Tartars, 11,000; and Gypsies, 
214,000. This statement does not include the 
tributary states of Roumania and Servia, which 
contain a population of about 5,000,000, nearly 



26 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

all being of the Slavonian race, and of the Chris- 
tian Church. The religious divisions of the pop- 
ulation in the immediate possessions are as fol- 
lows : Christians, about 4,500,000 ; Mahometans, 
3,500,000 j Israelites, 75,000. It thus appears, 
that out of a population of about 13,000,000, in- 
cluding the tributary states, only 3,500,000 are 
of the Mahometan faith, and they form the gov- 
erning class. 

" How is it," says Mr. Godkin,^ ''that so small 
a body of men, not forming a military organiza- 
tion, not acting, or prepared to act, in concert, 
scattered over the country in towns and villages 
like the others, are able to impose on this enor- 
mous majority, and maintain a regime of crushing 
oppression and inequality ? . . . The reason is to 
be found in the character of the population no 
less than in that of the Turks; and there could 
hardly be a more valuable illustration than this 
failure affords of the difficulty of making any 
valuable political change where the bulk of the 
people are wanting in the courage, ambition, and 

1 The Eastern Question : North American Review, January, 
1877. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 27 

self-confidence needed to carry it out. The con- 
cessions of the Ottoman Government to its Chris- 
tian subjects have amounted to nothing ; first, 
because the official class at Constantinople, which 
really made them, and which is the class with 
which European diplomatists deal, does not rep- 
resent, and is not in real harmony with, the Mus- 
sulman population of the interior, and is utterly 
unable to impose its will upon it ; and, secondly, 
because four centuries of oppression have so 
broken the spirit of the Christians, and destroyed 
their combativeness, that they are incapable of 
using their legal rights as against the conquering 
race." 

In this connection, an extract from a communi- 
cation to Midhat Pacha, the president of the 
Turkish council of ministers, who was laboring to 
reform tlie government by establishing a constitu- 
tion and a national assembly, will be of interest. 
This is understood to represent the views of 
the average Mussulman ; and its authenticity is 
vouched for by the American minister at Con- 
stantinople. 

" At the council, when the constitution and the 



28 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

national assembly were proposed, Zia Bey thought 
to support the proposition by quoting a passage 
from the Koran : ^ Do no evil, but always seek 
the good.' 

" It is but proper, we think, to substitute for 
that quotation the following passage : ^ Be broth- 
ers in the same race.' VVe will quote still another, 
which says, ^ He who sees one part only of the 
Koran, and not the other, deserves misery in this 
life, and punishment in the other.' 

^' We see no motive for requiring a constitution 
or a national assembly, and we shall not in any 
manner admit such an institution. We have sub- 
dued the Christians, and conquered their territory, 
by the power of the sword ; and we are unwilling 
to divide with them the administration of the 
country, and to let them participate in the direc- 
tion of the affairs of the government. 

^' The equality of the Christians with the Turks 
has been decreed. This is a decree of the Sultan, 
— a decree the subject of which admits much dis- 
cussion, into which we will net go; but as to 
dividing the empire with the Christians, this can- 
not be done. We must peremptorily declare it. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 29 

" Other nations, as England, Russia, and France, 
do not permit their Mussulman, Tartar, Hindoo, 
and Arabic subjects to participate in the affairs 
of the government. What others do not do, and 
are not compelled to do, we should not do ; and 
no person, nor any government in the world, can 
oblige us to do it." ^ 

In the summer of 1875 an insurrection broke 
out in Herzegovina. For a time it was regarded 
as an insignificant affair ; and, not being promptly 
attended to by the government, it spread rapidly, 
and received encouragement from abroad. On 
the request of the Turkish Government, the rep- 
resentatives of the great powers united in sending 
a commission into the disturbed district to in- 
quire into abuses, and redress grievances. Eng- 
land joined in the plan with reluctance, and only 
upon the urgent solicitation of the Porte. Lord 
Derby thought it was better that the Turkish 
Government should rely on their own resources to 
suppress the insurrection, and should deal with it 
as a local outbreak, and not give it international 
importance by appealing to the support of the 

1 State Dept. Docs., 1877, P- 582. 



30 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

treaty-powers. The efforts of the commission 
failed, because, as it was said, the insurgents had 
no faith in reforms promised by the Turks alone : 
what they wanted was European intervention to 
guarantee the reforms. This the Turkish Gov- 
ernment would not assent to. In December, 
1875, "^^ government of Austria-Hungary, anx- 
ious to bring about a speedy settlement, in order 
to prevent its own subjects from being affected 
by the constantly-enlarging spirit of insubordina- 
tion, proposed the following measures for pacifi- 
cation : — 

1. Religious liberty, full and entire. 

2. Abolition of the farming of taxes. 

3. A law to guarantee that the direct taxation of 
Bosnia and the Herzegovina should be employed 
for the immediate interests of the provinces. 

4. A special commission, composed of an equal 
number of Mussulmans and Christians, to super- 
intend the execution of the reforms proclaimed 
and proposed. 

5. The amelioration of the condition of the 
rural population. 

The representatives of the six powers, under 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 3 1 

instructions from their governments, supported 
these measures of reform ; but they came to 
nothing. The American ambassador in Turkey 
says, *' My beUef is, that the enhghtened states- 
men then in the imperial ministry saw clearly the 
evils out of which the insurrection had grown, 
and were sincere and determined in their efforts 
to reform them ; but the same two insurmount- 
able difficulties confronted them, — ■ the want of 
confidence in their promises, on the one hand, 
and the hostile Mussulman sentiment, on the 
other." 1 

After this failure, the representatives of Russia, 
Austria- Hungary, and Germany, met at Berlin 
on the 14th of May, 1876, and agreed upon 
a proposition known as the " Berlin Memoran- 
dum.'' It provided for a guaranty by the great 
powers of the several reforms already pro- 
claimed, but not reduced to practice. Great 
Britain objected to the memorandum, and re- 
fused to sign it on the ground *'that it must 
obviously and inevitably lead to the military 
occupation of Turkey." ^ 

1 State Dept. Docs., 1876-77, p. 581. 

2 Earl of Beaconsfield in House of Lords, Feb. 20, 1877. 



32 THE EASTERX QUESTION, 

Four days after the Berlin conference, the 
Emperor-king of Austria-Hungary stated, at an 
official reception, that ''the events in the East 
have only strengthened my resolution, and 
that of the two great neighboring states, to 
draw more closely and intimately the relations 
which have already existed between our em- 
pires." 

At this time the horrible atrocities which had 
been committed in Bulgaria during the first week 
in May had not been made public ; and the 
details were not fully known until in xiugust 
following. Air. Eugene Schuyler, the American 
consul-general in Turkey, visited the insurrec- 
tionary district, and made a report on the loth 
August, which more than confirmed the dark 
rumors which had prevailed for a few weeks 
previous. The outbreak against the Turkish 
authority was premature and insignificant. The 
insuro^ents made little or no resistance to the 
troops sent against them. In many instances 
they surrendered their arms upon the first 
demand. Nearly all the villages which were 
attacked by the bashi-bazouks were burned and 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, ZZ 

pillaged, as were also all those which had been 
abandoned by the terrified inhabitants. The 
inhabitants of some villages were massacred 
after exhibitions of the most ferocious cruelty, 
and the violation, not only of women and girls, 
bur even persons of the other sex. These crimes 
were committed by the regular troops as well 
as by the bashi-bazouks. 

Commenting upon these disclosures, Mr. Glad- 
stone says, ''There is not a criminal in an 
European jail, there is not a cannibal in the 
South Sea Islands, whose indignation would not 
rise and overboil at the recital of that which 
has been done, which has too late been exam- 
ined, but which remains unavenged ; which has 
left behind all the foul and all the fierce pas- 
sions that produced it, and which may again 
spring up, in another murderous harvest, from 
the soil soaked and reeking with blood, and in 
the air tainted with every imaginable deed of 
crime and shame. That such things should be 
done once is a damning disgrace to the portion 
of our race which did them ; that a door should 
be left open for their ever-so-barely possible 



34 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

repetition would spread that shame over the 
whole." 1 

On the 2d July, 1876, the Prince of Servia 
and the Hospodar of Montenegro declared war 
against Turkey. 

The position of the British Government at 
this time is found in a declaration made by the 
Earl of Derby, minister of foreign affairs, on the 
14th July. He said, "We undertook, twenty 
years ago, to guarantee the Sick Man against 
murder ; but we never undertook to guarantee 
him against suicide or sudden death. Now, 
that is, in a few words, our policy as regards 
this war now going on [i.e., between Servia, 
Montenegro, and Turkey]. We shall not inter- 
vene j but we shall do our utmost, if necessary, 
to discourage others from intervening.'' 

When the English people became fully ac- 
quainted w4th the details of the Bulgarian atroci- 
ties, public feeling ran very high against the 
policy of adhering to the provisions of the 
Treaty of Paris, guaranteeing non-interference 

1 Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East. By W. 
E. Gladstone. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, ZS 

in the administration of the Turkish Government 
over its Christian subjects. The ministry began 
cautiously to change ground. Mr. Disraeli said 
in the House of Commons, on the nth August, 
" Those who suppose that England ever would 
uphold, or at this moment is upholding, Turkey^ 
from blind superstition, and from a want of 
sympathy with the highest aspirations of hu- 
manity, are deceived. What our duty is at this 
critical moment is to maintain the empire of 
England ; nor will we ever consent to any step, 
although it may obtain comparative quiet and 
a false prosperit}^, which could hazard the exist- 
ence of this empire." 

Under this bit of buncombe, this appeal to 
the " enlightened selfishness " of the British 
merchant, a change of front was about to take 
place. The speech from the throne a few days \ 
aftenvards (isth August) stated, that, when a 
favorable opportunity presented itself, the gov- 
ernment was ready to offer its good offices for 
the purpose of mediation between the contend- 
ing parties. On the 2 1 St September, the Earl of 
Derby sent a despatch to the British ambassa- 



36 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

dor in Turkey, in which, after speaking of the 
just indignation which had been excited by the 
cruelties to the Bulgarian peasantry, he said, 
''No political considerations would justify the 
toleration of such acts ; and one of the foremost 
conditions for the settlement of the questions 
now pending must be, that ample reparation shall 
be afforded to the sufferers, and their future se- 
curity guaranteed/' 

About the same time, Mr. Gladstone published 
a pamphlet on "The Bulgarian Horrors and the 
Question of the East," which made a great stir 
in political circles. He denounced the policy 
of the British ministry, and urged that the gov- 
ernment should intervene to bring about a ter- 
mination of the war then going on, and should, 
in addition, aim at the accomplishment of these 
three objects ; namely, — 

^' I. To put a stop to the anarchical misrule 
(let the phrase be excused), the plundering, the 
murdering, which, as w^e now seem to learn upon 
sufficient evidence, still desolate Bulgaria. 

''2. To make effectual provision against the 
recurrence of the outrages recently perpetrated 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 37 

under the sanction of the Ottoman Government, 
by excluding its administrative action for the 
future, not only from Bosnia and the Herzego- 
vina, but also, and above all, from Bulgaria ; upon 
which, at best, there will remain, for years and 
for generations, the traces of its foul and bloody 
hand. 

"3. To redeem by these measures the honor of 
the British name, which, in the deplorable events 
of the year, has been more gravely compromised 
than I have known it to be at any former period." 

The anti-Turkish sentiment which Mr. Glad- 
stone's vigorously-expressed views produced was 
strengthened by the publication, some time later, 
of Mr. Edward A. Freeman's article on the Turks 
in Europe. After answering the questions. Who 
is the Turk ? what has he done in Europe t 
what is to be done with him ? he concludes, " He 
came in as an alien and barbarian, encamped on 
the soil of Europe : at the end of five hundred 
years, he remains an alien and barbarian, en- 
camped on soil which he has no more made his 
own than it was when he first took Kallipolis. 
His rule durino: all that time has been the rule 



38 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

of Strangers over enslaved nations in their own 
land : it has been the rule of cruelty, faithless- 
ness, and brutal lust : it has not been government, 
but organized brigandage. His rule cannot be 
reformed. While all other nations get better and 
better, the Turk gets worse and worse ; and, when 
the chief powers of Europe join in demanding 
that he should make even the smallest reform, he 
impudently refuses to make any. If there was 
any thing to be said for him before the late con- 
ference, there is nothing to be said for him. now. 
For an evil which cannot be reformed, there is 
one remedy only, — to get rid of it. Justice, rea- 
son, humanity, demand that the rule of the Turk 
in Europe should be got rid of ; and the time for 
getting rid of it has now come." 

On the 27th of September, the Lord Mayor of 
London and a deputation of citizens called on 
the Earl of Derby, and stated, that, at a meeting 
held on the 19th of that month (three days, it 
will be observed, before the earl sent his stiff 
despatch to the ambassador in Turkey), the feel- 
ing on the Turkish question was very strong in- 
deed, '^and went to show that the old foreign 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 39 

policy of England with regard to Turkey and the 
East was no longer tenable." 

In order to open the way for a conference of 
the treaty-powers, England proposed an armis- 
tice of six weeks between Turkey and Servia. 
The Turkish Government proposed six months. 
The Russian Government demanded an immedi- 
ate armistice of from four to six weeks, under 
penalty of breaking off diplomatic relations. 

The Turkish Government complied with the 
demand ; and the representatives of the treaty- 
powers, upon^the suggestion of the British Govern- 
ment, soon after assembled at Constantinople to 
settle the conditions of peace. On the 2d of 
November, before the conference took place, the 
British ambassador in Russia had an interview 
with the Emperor Alexander, in which ''His 
Majesty pledged his sacred word of honor, in 
the most earnest and solemn manner, that he 
had no intention of acquiring Constantinople, 
and that, if necessity should oblige him to occupy 
a portion of Bulgaria, it would only be provis- 
ionally, and until the peace and the safety of the 
Christian population were secured." 



40 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

A few days later (loth November) the emper- 
or made a speech at Moscow, in which he said, 
*^I have striven, and shall still strive, to obtain 
a real improvement of the position of the Chris- 
tians in the East by peaceful means." But, 
^^ should I see that we cannot obtain such guar- 
anties as are necessary for carr}dng out what 
we have a right to demand of the Porte, I 
am firmly determined to act independently ; and 
I am convinced, that, in this case, the whole of 
Russia will respond to my summons, should I 
consider it necessary, and should the honor of 
Russia require it/' 

The preliminary conference at Constantinople 
was opened on the nth December, and was 
participated in by representatives from Great 
Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Ger- 
many, and Italy. The purposes of that confer- 
ence, and the failure to accomplish any satisfac- 
tory results, can be best understood by quoting 
from the speech of the Marquis of SaHsbury, 
who was the chief representative, at the confer- 
ence, on the part of Great Britain. Replying to 
an attack of the Duke of Argyll upon the policy 
of the government, the marquis said, — 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 41 

"In the treaty of 1856 the intention of Turkey to reform 
herself was recognized in the most solemn manner ; and 
each of the powers for itself — I am not now speaking of 
their mutual obligations — guaranteed in the most distinct 
manner the integrity and independence of the Ottoman 
Empire. That treaty was signed by the government of 
which the noble duke was a member.^ But in the summer 
of 1875 a rebellion broke out. My noble friend (Lord 
Derby) spoke of not fostering that rebellion, and inviting 
sympathizers from outside to keep it up ; and then he was 
denounced by the very men who signed the treaty of 1856 
as though he had committed some great crime, not only 
against international law, but against morality. I admit 
how much events have modified the interpretation we are to 
put on the treaty of 1856; but that, at the beginning, blame 
should have been levelled against my noble friend for his 
efforts to maintain it by one of the ministers who gave that 
guaranty, was a very extraordinary circumstance. It soon 
became evident that the sanguine hopes of 1856 would not 
be realized, and that the exact attitude of this country 
towards Turkey could not remain as it was in 1856. But 
we were not bound, nor should we be justified in at once 
turning round on our ancient ally who had received en- 
couragement from us so long, and who counted on our sup- 
port. If the alliance was broken up, if our exertions for 
the maintenance of the Ottoman Empire were to cease, 
assuredly it was our part to struggle to the last against a 

1 The Duke of Argyll. 



42 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

change which forced upon us a new and unexpected inter- 
pretation of a treaty by which our country was pledged ; 
assuredly it was our duty to exhaust appeal, remonstrance, 
exhortation, before deserting a cause we had hitherto main- 
tained ; and if we had taken any other course, however deep 
the guilt of the Turks, however low you may put their in- 
telligence, they would have had fair ground of complaint 
against this country. My right honorable friend in the other 
House had compared our change of policy to the change 
which a man makes who puts on a great-coat in winter, 
instead of wearing the same clothes as he did in summer. 
We had changed as far as events compelled us ; but we had 
not changed our traditional policy without hesitation and 
without sorrow ; and we still clung to the hope that some 
alteration would occur in the councils of Turkey, which 
would bring that alliance back to the same state as it was 
before. Now, my lords, that was the explanation of the 
reason why we went into the conference, — distinctly not as 
a preliminary to force, but as a means of peaceful persua- 
sion. That being so, it necessarily followed, as the noble 
lord opposite remarked, that Russia was the motive -power 
of the conference. That is not the way in which I should 
prefer to phrase it ; but at the same time I do not deny that 
it is absolutely true in a sense. It is true that we went into 
the conference, first of all to restore peace between Turkey 
and Servia, and then to obtain a government for the Turkish 
Provinces ; but, undoubtedly, we also went to stop a great 
and menacing danger, namely, the prospect of a war 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 43 

between Russia and the Porte. This, then, being the evil 
which we came to avert, it naturally was in pointing out 
that evil that our moral influence on the Porte rested. We 
said to Turkey, * Unless you do this or that, this terrible 
danger, which may well .involve the loss of your empire, is 
ready to fall upon you. We hope that our influence and 
advice may be able to avert it ; indeed, we come here for 
that purpose ; but w^e warn you that we shall accept no 
responsibility for the future, if you treat our advice with dis- 
dain.' Undoubtedly it was in this sense true that the fear 
of the result of a rupture of the congress — the fear of a 
breach with Russia — was the motive-force of the con- 
ference. It seems to me, as it must to everybody else, that 
the refusal of the Turks is a mystery ; for the infatuation of 
that course seems to be so tremendous." ^ 

The Earl of Beaconsfield (Disraeli) also re- 
plied to the Duke of Arg}'ll on the same occa- 
sion j and, in the course of his speech, said, — 

*' There were two great policies before us with regard to 
the Christian subjects of the Porte. There was the Rus- 
sian plan, deserving of all respect : it was a plan for estab- 
lishing a chain of autonomous states tributary to the Porte, 
but in every other sense independent. No one can deny 
that was a large scheme, worthy of a statesman, and worthy 
of the deepest consideration. But the deepest considera- 

1 Speech in the House of Lords, 20th February, 1877. 



44 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

tion that her Majesty's government could give to it was 
that they were forced entirely to disapprove of that scheme. 
This scheme of a chain of autonomous states in the Balkan 
country, and, indeed, in the whole of the country, that dur- 
ing the last half-century has been known as European Tur- 
key, is a state of affairs that had existed before. The 
Turks did not step from Asia to conquer Constantinople, 
as is sometimes mentioned in the speeches at the national 
conferences. (A laugh.) It was very gradually that they 
entered into Europe. As a military power they obtained 
territories near the Black Sea, and ultimately entered into 
Thracia ; and there they remained with all these independ- 
ent and autonomous states. There was, of course, an 
Emperor of Censtantinople, there was a King of Bulgaria, 
there was a King of Servia, there was a Hospodar of Walla- 
chia, there was a Duke of Athens, and there v/as a Prince 
of Corinth. And what happened ? The new military 
power that had entered into Europe gradually absorbed 
and conquered all these independent states ; and having 
conquered these independent states, these kingdoms and 
duchies, the Empire of Constantinople (being limited to its 
matchless city, and to what in modern language is called a 
cabbage-garden) was invested and fell. And it did occur 
to us, that if there were a chain of autonomous States, and 
the possessors of Constantinople were limited to a cabbage- 
garden, probably the same result might occur. Well, I do 
not pretend to say who first introduced this word * autono- 
my ' into these negotiations. If we did, we must bear the 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 45 

blame. But against this plan of the Russian court we 
proposed what was called by some one — the phrase was 
adopted at last — * administrative autonomy ; ' and we 
defined that administrative autonomy to be an institution 
that would secure the Christian subjects of the Porte some 
control over their own affairs, and some security from ex- 
cesses of arbitrary power." 

Referring, in conclusion, to the services of the 
Marquis of Salisbury at the conference, he said, 
" My noble friend fell only into one error, which 
I should have fallen into myself ; and I believe 
every member of this House would have fallen 
into it. He gave too much credit to the Turks 
for common sense ; and he could not believe, that, 
when he made so admirable an arrangement in 
their favor, they would have lost so happy an 
opportunity." 

In the mean time great changes had been tak- 
ing place in the Turkish Government. On the 
30th May, 1876, the Sultan, Abdul-Aziz, who had 
reigned since 186 1, was deposed by the Grand 
Vizier, who was supported by the soldiers and the 
people. The nephew of the deposed Sultan suc- 
ceeded to the throne as Murad V. On the 31st 



46 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

of August, after a reign of three months, Sultan 
Murad V. was deposed by the council of minis- 
ters, on the ground of mental incapacity ; and his 
brother was proclaimed Sultan under the title of 
Abdul-Hamid II. 

The despatch of the American ambassador in 
Turkey, dated ist September, 1876, throws some 
light on this revolutionary proceeding. He men- 
tions a prediction which he had made previous to 
the deposition of" Abdul- Aziz, namely, that the 
Sultan and his nephew, the then heir-apparent, 
had provoked their destiny by visiting the Paris 
Exposition of 1867, and setting foot on Christian 
soil, and then says, — 

"When the revolution broke out which de- 
throned Abdul-Aziz, I could not resist the convic- 
tion that it would be completed only by the 
elevation of Hamid. Every thing which occurred 
subsequently only strengthened it. Murad was 
placed on the throne temporarily, because he was 
the next in the line of the succession, and to 
meet in public estimation the requirements of the 
Moslem law, but with no intention that he should 
enjoy more than a temporary occupation." ^ 

1 State Dept. Docs., 1876-77, p. 583. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 47 

On the 7th September, the new Sultan was 
invested with the sword of Othman/ and issued 
an address, in which he said, — 

" The great object to be aimed at is to adopt 
measures for placing the laws and regulations of 
the country upon bases which shall inspire confi- 
dence in their execution. For this purpose, it is 
indispensable to proceed to the establishment of 
a general council or national assembly (the origi- 
nal Turkish expression is medjiliss omnoumt)^ 
whose acts will inspire every confidence in the 
nation, and will be in harmony with the customs, 
aptitudes, and capabilities of the populations of 
the empire. The mission and duty of this coun- 
cil w^ill be to guarantee, without exception, the 
faithful execution of the existing laws, or of those 
which shall be promulgated in conformity with 
the provisions of the sheri^ in connection with the 
real and legitimate wants of the country and its 
inhabitants, as also to control the equilibrium of 
the revenue, and expenditures of the empire." ^ 

In accordance with this recommendation, the 

1 No such investiture was made in the case of Murad V. 

2 From Daily Levant Herald, Sept. 12, 1876. 



48 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

council of ministers prepared a constitution for 
the Ottoman Empire, providing for the estabhsh- 
ment of representative institutions. On the 23d 
December, the constitution v/as promulgated ; 
and a parliament was called to assemble on the 
13th March following, and actually assembled on 
the 19th. 

In this connection, the speech made by a mem- 
ber of the parliament — a rough-looking represen 
tative from Kurdistan — will be of interest, as 
showing the sentiments of the common people on 
the question of foreign interference. In reply to 
some remarks about the great misery brought 
about by the present state of things, he said, — 

" You talk of misery ; and yet I see brilliant 
uniforms, luxurious palaces, and many elegant 
carriages, in Constantinople. Come to our prov- 
ince, if you really want to know what misery 
means. I myself, like most of the people in my 
province, go about in rags ; and it was only by a 
great effort and sacrifice that I have been able to 
get this coat to appear decently among you ; and 
still I am ready to give up this coat, and resume 
my old rags, in order to fight for the existence and 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 49 

honor of my country. No one has a right to 
interfere with our own domestic affairs ; and we 
Ottomans protest solemnly against such inter- 
ference by any foreign power.'' ^ 



After the failure of the conference at Constan- 
tinople, Prince Gortschakoff issued a circular, in 
which, after reciting what had taken place, he 
said, " It is necessary for us to know what the 
cabinets, with which we have hitherto acted in 
common, propose to do, with a view of meet- 
ing this refusal, and insuring the execution of 
their wishes." 

But, before any response had been made to 
this request for information, the Russian Gov- 
ernment, fearing that it might be embarrassed 
if the other governments should not agree, pre- 
pared a protocol, which, after some verbal 
amendments, w^as signed by the representatives 
of the six powders, at London, on the 31st March, 
1877. After taking cognizance of the peace 
w^hich had recently been concluded between 

1 Vienna Correspondent London Times, April 4, 1877. 



50 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

Turkey and Servia, and taking cognizance, also, 
of the good intentions of the Porte, as shown 
in its declarations made from time to time dming 
the past year, the protocol invites the Porte to 
place its army on a peace-footing, and then -de- 
clares, that ''' the powers propose to watch care- 
fully, by means of their representatives at Con- 
stantinople, and their local agents, the manner 
in which the promises of the Ottoman Govern- 
ment are carried into effect. 

"' If their hopes should once more be dis- 
appointed, and if the condition of the Christian 
subjects of the Sultan should not be improved 
in a manner to prevent the return of the com- 
plications which periodically disturb the peace 
of the East, they think it right to declare that 
such a state of affairs would be incompatible 
with their interests, and those of Europe in gen- 
eral. In such case, they reserve to themselves 
to consider in common as to the means which 
they may deem best fitted to secure the well- 
being of the Christian populations, and the 
interests of the general peace." 

On affixing his signature, the Russian ambas- 
sador filed the following declaration : — 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 51 

" If peace with Montenegro is concluded, and 
the Porte accepts the advice of Europe, and 
shows itself ready to replace its forces on a 
peace-footing, and seriously to undertake the 
reforms mentioned in the protocol, let it send 
to St. Petersburg a special envoy to treat of dis- 
armament, to which his IMajesty the Emperor 
would also, on his part, consent. 

"If massacres similar to those which have 
stained Bulgaria with blood take place, this 
would necessarily put a stop to the measures 
of demobilization." 

If Turkey had been desirous of peace, there 
could have been no hesitation in giving its assent 
to this indeterminate declaration. But the war- 
party evidently had the ascendency in the coun- 
cils of the divan; and the protocol was rejected. 
A counter-declaration was made, in which the 
signatory powers were notified (i) that, adopting 
toward Montenegro the same line of conduct 
which brought about the pacification of Servia, 
the Sublime Porte spontaneously informed the 
prince two months ago that it would spare no 
effort to arrive at an understanding with him^, 



52 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

even at the price of certain sacrifices ; (2) that 
the Imperial Government was prepared to apply 
all the promised reforms ; but those reforms, in 
conformity with the fundamental provisions of 
the constitution, could not have a special or ex- 
clusive character, and it was in that spirit that 
the Imperial Government, in its full and entire 
liberty, would continue to apply its instructions ; 
(3) that Turkey was ready to place its armies on 
a peace-footing as soon as it saw the Russian 
Government take measures to the same end ; (4) 
with regard to the disturbances which might 
break out in Turkey, and stop the demobilization 
of the Russian army, the Turkish Government 
repelled the injurious terms in which the idea 
had been expressed, and stated its belief that 
Europe was convinced that the recent distur- 
bances were due to foreign instigation, i.e., 
Russia's j (5) concerning the despatch of the 
special envoy to St. Petersburg to treat on the 
question of disarmament, the Imperial Govern- 
ment, which would have no reason to refuse an 
act of courtesy reciprocally required by diplo- 
matic usages, perceives no connection between 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 53 

that act of international courtesy and the disar- 
mament which there was no plausible motive for 
delaying, and which might be carried into effect 
by a single telegraphic order. 

In conclusion it was declared, that, ^'main- 
taining with other friendly states relations regu- 
lated by international law and treaties, Turkey 
cannot allow foreign agents or representatives, 
charged to protect the interests of their com- 
patriots, to have any mission of official super- 
vision. The Imperial Government, in fact, is not 
aware how it can have deserved so ill of justice 
and civilization as to see itself placed in a humili- 
ating position without examjDle in the world.-*^ The 
Treaty of Paris gave an explicit sanction to the 
principle of non-intervention. This treaty, which 
binds together the powers who participated in it, 
as well as Turkey, cannot be abolished by a pro- 
tocol in which Turkey has had no share ; and, if 
Turkey appeals to the stipulations of the Treaty of 
Paris, it is not that that treaty has created in her 
favor any rights which she would not possess 
without it, but rather for the purpose of calling 

1 This after the horrors of Bulgaria. 



54 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

attention to grave reasons, which, in interest of 
the general peace of Europe, induced the powers 
twenty years ago to place the recognition of the 
inviolability of this empire's right to sovereignty 
under guaranty of collective promise." 

When the Turkish ambassador in London 
called upon the Earl of Derby, on the 12th of 
April, to deliver the above circular, the British 
minister of foreign affairs expressed his deep 
regrets at the view the Porte had taken, and said 
he could not see what further steps England could 
take to avert the war which appeared to be inevi- 
table. 

On the 24th April (N. S.) the Tsar, who was 
at KichenefE with the army, issued his mani- 
festo, in which he said, — 

'' For two years we have made incessant efforts 
to induce the Porte to effect such reforms as 
would protect the Christians in Bosnia, Herzego- 
vina, and Bulgaria, from the arbitrary measures 
of the local authorities. The accomplishment 
of these reforms was absolutely stipulated by 
anterior engagements contracted by the Porte 
toward the whole of Europe. Our efforts, sup- 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, SS 

ported by diplomatic representations made in 
common by the other governments, have not, 
however, attained their object. The Porte has 
remained unshaken in its formal refusal of any 
effective guaranty for the security of its Chris- 
tian subjects, and has rejected the conclusions 
of the Constantinople conference. Wishing to 
essay every possible means of conciliation in 
order to persuade the Porte, we proposed to the 
other cabinets to draw up a sj^ecial protocol, 
comprising the most essential conditions of the 
Constantinople conference, and to invite the 
Turkish Government to adhere to this interna- 
tional act, which states the extreme limits of 
our peaceful demands. But our expectation was 
not fulfilled. The Porte did not defer to this 
unanimous wish of Christian Europe, and did 
not adhere to the conclusions of the protocol. 
Having exhausted pacific efforts, we are com- 
pelled, by the haughty obstinacy of the Porte, 
to proceed to more decisive acts, feeling that 
equity and our own dignity enjoin it. By her 
refusal, Turkey places us under the necessity of 
having recourse to arms. Profoundly convinced 



S^ THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

of the justice of our cause, and humbly com- 
mitting ourselves to the grace and help of the 
Most High, we make known to our faithful sub- 
jects that the moment foreseen, when we pro- 
nounced words to which all Russia responded 
with complete unanimity, has now arrived. We 
expressed the intention to act independently 
when we deemed it necessar}^, and when Russia's 
honor should demand it. And now, invoking 
the blessing of God upon our valiant armies, 
we give them the order to cross the Turkish 
frontier." 

On the same day, the telegraph announced 
that fifty thousand Russians crossed the Pruth 
at Jassy, Kabul, and Bolgrad. 



W 88 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 57 



THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. 



Emperor, Alexander II. Nicolaievitch, 
born the 17th April, 18 18, succeeded his father 
(Nicholas I. Pavlovitch) the i8th of February, 
1855. His children are, (i) AkxaJider-K\it:^2.x\- 
drovitch. Hereditary Grand Duke, born 26th Feb- 
ruary, 1845, commandant of the Imperial Guard, 
general of infantry and cavalry ; (2) Vladimir^ 
Alexandrovitch, Grand Duke, born loth April, 
1847, lieutenant-general, commanding first divis- 
ion of Imperial Guards ; (3) ^/^a:/^"- Alexandro- 
vitch, Grand Duke, born 2d Januar}^, 1850, colo- 
nel, and aide-de-camp of the emperor ; (4) 
-/J/<3^r/>-i\lexandrovna, Grand Duchesse, born 5th 
October, 1853 ; (5) ^'^r^/^^^'-Alexandrovitch, Grand 
Duke, born 29th April, 1857, chief of the second 

1 The statements in relation to the governments and industries 
of Russia and Turkey are collated from Martin's Statesman's 
Year-Book for 1877, the Almanach de Gotha for 1877, and the 
United States Report on Commercial Relations, 1875. 



S8 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

battalion of Chasseurs of the Guard ; (6) Paul- 
Alexandrovitch, Grand Duke, born 3d October, 
i860, chief of the Koura Regiment. 

The government of Russia is an absolute here- 
ditary monarchy. The administration of the 
empire is intrusted to four colleges, or boards of 
government, (i.) The Cotmcil of the E7npire^ 
which consists of certain officials, and such other 
persons as the emperor may from time to time 
appoint. In 1875 the council contained forty- 
two members specially appointed by the emperor. 
The Grand Duke Constantine is the president ; 
the hereditary Grand Duke Alexander is a mem- 
ber ; and all the ministries are members ex officio. 
It is intrusted by law or custom with many 
important functions, such as examining and criti- 
cising the annual budget, declaring war, and con- 
cluding peace ; but the emperor is not bound by 
its decisions. (2.) The Senate^ which was origi- 
nally intrusted with the supreme power during 
the absence or minority of the monarch, and was 
intended X.o exercise a controlling influence in all 
sections of the administration. It is now re- 
stricted to judicial matters, and is little more than 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 59 

a Supreme Court of Appeal.^ (3.) The Committee 
of Ministers^ which is presided over by Gen. Igna- 
tieff, and which includes the heads of the dif- 
ferent departments, ten in number ; namely, 
Foreign Affairs, War, Navy, Interior, Public In- 
struction, Finance, Justice, Imperial Domains, 
Public Works and Railways, Imperial Court. 
(4.) The Holy Sy?iod, which has the superin- 
tendence of the religious affairs of the empire : 
it is presided over by Isidore, the Metropolitan 
of Novgorod. 

For the purposes of territorial administration, 
European Russia, exclusive of Poland, the Baltic 
Provinces, Finland, and the Caucasus, each of 
which has a peculiar administration of its own, 
is divided into forty-six provinces (^//^^r<2;^//) ; and 
each province is subdivided into districts {iiyezdi). 

According to enumerations made by the gov- 
ernment during the years 1870 to 1873, the total 
population of the empire numbers 85,685,945, 
averaging ten to the square mile. The total 
population of Russia Proper (in Europe) is 65,- 
504,659 ; of European Russia, 78,281,447. 
1 Wallace's Russia. 



6o THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

The estimated revenue for 1876 was ;^8 1,448,- 
329 j expenditures, iJ"; 9, 443 5630. The estimated 
amount of the entire pubHc debt on the ist Jan- 
uary, 1876, was ;^25o,962,ooo, of which £\^z,- 
091,000 was bearing interest, and ;^77, 87 1,000 
was not bearing interest. The amount of bank- 
notes in circulation (a forced currency) on the 
1st January, 1876, was ;^i 13,044,783. 

The military forces of the empire in time of 
war are stated as follows : Russia in Europe 
(troops in the field), officers, 18,150 ; combatants, 
674,957 ; non-combatants, 53,042 ; cannons, 
2,172 ; horses, 132,550. Total force in Europe, 
including troops in the field, in station, and in 
reserve : officers, 38,200 ; combatants, 1,358,557 ; 
non-combatants, 142,742; horses, 171,350. In 
the Caucasus, officers, 4,906; combatants, 216,- 
380; non-combatants, 19,131 ; horses, 21,040. 
In Asia, officers, 1,057; combatants, 34,700; 
non-combatants, 4,000 ; horses, 3,500. 

The strength of the navy was officially returned 
in March, 1876, as follows : 89 admirals, 1,357 
officers, 540 pilots, 215 officers of artillery, 150 
naval constructors, 554 master mechanics, 58 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 6 1 

official architects, 291 surgeons, 331 admiralty 
officers, and 504 civil functionaries. The total 
number of men required to man the fleets is 
25,943. The Baltic fleet consists of 27 ironclads 
carrying 197 guns, 44 armed steamers carrying 
190 guns, and 66 steam transports. The Black- 
sea fleet consists of 2 ironclads, 25 armed 
steamers, and 4 transports. The fleet in the 
Caspian Sea consists of 11 armed steamers and 
8 steamers not armed. The Siberian fleet con- 
sists of 9 armed steamers and 18 steamers not 
armed. In the Sea of Aral there are 6 steamers. 
In the White Sea there are 3 steamers. The 
total number of Russian war-vessels is 223; num- 
ber of guns, 56I ; tonnage, 188,120 ; horse-power, 
31,080. The most powerful vessel is the mast- 
less turret ship, " Peter the Great,'' launched at 
Cronstadt in 1874. This ship has two turrets 
armed with four thirty-five-ton guns made by 
Krupp. The ironclad fleet includes 29 vessels 
with 184 guns, 9,210 horse-power, and of 74,793 
tons burden. It is admitted that the Russian 
fleet in the Black Sea is utterly unable to cope 
with the Turkish fleet. 



62 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 



TRADE AND NAVIGATION. 

The following statement, taken from the last 
government report on commercial relations 
(1875), shows the trade between Russia and 
other portions of Europe and the United States 
in 1874: — 



Great Britain 

Germany , 

France , 

Austria , 

Italy 

Holland and Belgium. . . , 

Sweden and Norway 

Denmark , 

Turkey, Greece, and Rou 

mania 

United States , 

Finland 

All other States 

Total 



Export. 



Silver rubles. 
136,461,698 
136,466,850 
33,056,382 

33.414^979 

8,696,999 

28,628,349 

10,920,953 

6,601,372 

14,060,603 
1,810,780 
9,028,841 
1.370,523 



Import. 



Silver rtihles. 
126,263,853 

174,729.769 
19,728,941 
20,706,710 
10,984,200 
14.997.238 
3.301.982 
194,446 

16,527,287 
39,410,552 
10,648,411 
10,640,399 



Total Trade. 

Silver rtibles^ 
262,725,551 
311,196,619 

52,785.323 
54,121,689 
19,681,199 
43.625,587 
14,222,935 
6,795,818 

30,587,890 
41,221,332 
19,677,252 
12,010,912 



421,508,329 



447.596,388 



869,104,717 



The principal articles of export in 1874 from 
Russia to Europe and America were as follows : — 

1 The silver ruble represents seventy-five cents in American 
currency. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 63 

Silver rubles. 

Grain and legumes 212,298,906 

Cattle and sheep 7,664,906 

Horses 2,135,373 

Wool 11,526,271 

Tallow 2,695,992 

Bristles 3,101,906 

Horse manes and tails 80 1 , 734 

Feathers and downs 1,029,714 

Bones 1,241,722 

Hides 2,207,747 

Tobacco in leaves, cut, cigars 1,260,642 

Flax and flax tow 53,965,206 

Flax and hemp seed 25,673,139 

Hemp 15,150,564 

Wood 29,596,636 

Resin 1,003,259 

Bolt rope, cordage, sail-cloth 1,781,507 

Crash 81,980 

Linen 683, 85 1 

Malachite goods 77j^7^ 

Furs 1,535,616 

Leather 1,103,873 

Sheet iron i^Z'j^^'j'j^ 

Crude iron 1,052,009 

Caviaes 1,005,315 

isinglass ^jS^SrSo^ 

Rags 437,749 

Miscellaneous 20, 104,621 

Total 411,489,588 

Amounts for Finland added 9,028,841 

Grand total for Europe and America 420,518,329 



64 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 



The total export of grain from the Russian 
Empire from i860 to Aug, i. 1875, reduced to 
American bushels and gold dollars, was as fol- 
lows : — 



i860 

1865... 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 to Aug. I 



BusJiels. 

51.0555855 

56,977,580 
124,683,283 
143,524,283 

96,131,581 
127,584,529 
161,854,548 

68,985,640 



Gold dollars. 
47j 564.433 
50.555.960 
129,907,389 
144,865,826 
104,578,224 
133.974.648 
158,476,691 
72,173.799 



The number of Russian ships engaged in for- 
eign trade in 1874 was 621 ; number in coasting 
trade bearing Russian flag, 1,672 ; number of 
steamers on rivers and lakes of the empire, 385. 

The length of railways open for traffic in Eu- 
ropean Russia in 1875 was 11,591 miles, and 
nearly 6,000 miles of additional road were pro- 
jected. The length of telegraph-lines was 31,459 
miles. 



THE EASTERN QLESTION. 65 



THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 



Sultan, Abdul-Hamid II., born 5th Septem- 
ber, 1842, succeeded to power 31st August, 1876. 
He is the son of Sultan Abdul-Medjid, and is 
the thirty-fifth in male descent from the house of 
Othman, the founder of the empire. 

The Grand Vizier, whose functions were defined 
in the year 132 of the Hegira, or 754 years after 
the Christian Era, is the supreme chief of the 
temporal administration. The Sheik-ul-Islam, or 
Ancient of Islam, is the head of the church. 
Both these officers are appointed by the Sultan. 
The Koran has heretofore been the only recog- 
nized source of civil and religious law. Whether 
the new legislative body which has recently been 
assembled under the charter promulgated Dec. 
23, 1876, has authority to make any laws incon- 
sistent with the teachings of the Koran, does not 
appear. The divan, or ministerial council, is 
divided into eight departments, or bureaus, — 
War, Finance, iMarine, Commerce, Public Works, 



66 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 



Police, Justice, and Public Instruction. There 
have been constant changes of ministers in recent 
years, the average term of service of members of 
the divan not exceeding four months. The em- 
pire is divided into districts of three classes, — 
the '' Vilayet," the highest, the " Sanjak," a sub- 
division, and the " Caza," the unit of the political 
organization. This division is copied from the 
French system, and corresponds to the Provinces, 
Prefectures, and Sous-prefectures in that country. 
The following table gives the population of the 
several divisions of the highest class, and the num- 
ber of Mahometans in each, estimated in 1876 : — 



Vilayets. 


Population. 


Mahometans. 


Christians and 
Israelites. 


Constantinople 1 

Adrianople 


327,750 
1,354,567 
1,994,821 
1,028,141 

711,250 
T, 168,016 

1,357,984 
200,000 


183,540 
523,009 
819,226 
429,410 
250,649 
617,479 
493,148 
38,000 


144,210 

831,558 

1,175,527 

598,731 

460,601 

550.537 
864,836 

162,000 


Danube 


Salonica. 


Janina 


Roumelia 


Bosnia 


Crete . 






Total 2 


8,232,461 


3,444,461 


4,788,000 





1 This includes only the European part of the city. 

2 Exclusive of about 82,000 in the army, all of whom are 
Mahometans. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 67 

This Statement includes only that portion of 
Turkey in Europe over which the Turkish Gov 
ernment exercises immediate rule. 

The total revenue of the government, includ- 
ing the payments of the tributary states amounted, 
in 1875-76, to ;^i9, 106,352 : the expenditures for 
the same year amounted to ;^23, 143,276. There 
has been an annual deficit dating back to the 
year 1850. In 1875 '^^ foreign debt, contracted 
during the preceding twenty years, amounted to 
;^i84,98 1,783 ; and the internal and floating debt 
was estimated at from nine millions to thirty mil- 
lions of pounds. The government failed to pay 
the interest on the public debt last year ; and an 
order of the government announced that " no pay- 
ments would be made until the internal affairs of 
the empire had become more settled/' An issue 
of paper money was made 27th July, 1876, to what 
extent is not known. 

The military forces were estimated in 1876 as 
follows (war footing) : infantr}^ 117,360; cavalry, 
22,416; field artillery, 7,800; artillery in for- 
tresses, 5,200; engineers, 1,600; detached corps, 
16,000 ; total, 170,376. Reserves, 148,680; irreg- 



68 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

ulars, 87,000 ; auxiliaries, 75,000. Non-Mussul- 
mans are not liable to military service ; but they 
pay a tax on account of their exemption. The 
Avhole population of Turkey, including Asia and 
Africa, is variously estimated at from 28,000,000, 
to 48,000,000, of which 16,000,000 are said to be 
Mahometans. Of these, about 3,000,000 are in- 
cluded in the nomad tribes, not subject to con- 
scription. Constantinople is also exempt from 
the conscription ; so that the population from 
which the Turkish army is to be recruited amounts 
to about 12,000,000. 

The Turkish fleet contains twenty iron-clad 
ships, namely, seven frigates, eight corvettes, and 
five gunboats, and seventy other steamers, name- 
ly, five ships-of-the-line, five frigates, fifteen cor- 
vettes, and fifty-five despatch and gun boats. 
Most of the iron-clads were built in England. 
The two largest, " The Mesondive " and '' The 
Mendouhiye," are each of nine thousand tons 
burden, twelve hundred and fifty horse-power, and 
carry twelve guns for 400-pound shot, three guns 
for 150-pound shot, and six guns for 20-pound 
shot. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 69 

TRADE AND NAVIGATION. 

The number of vessels entered and cleared at 
the port of Constantinople during the year ending 
Dec. 31, 1874, was, steamers, 4,185 ; sailing-ves- 
sels, 16,489 ; total tonnage, 4,606,195. In 1865 
the numbers were, steamers, 2,076 ; sailing-ves- 
sels, 14,885 ; tonnage, 4,244,948. A comparison 
of the tonnage carried respectively in steamers 
and sailing-vessels in 1865 ^^^ 1^74 shows that 
the relation between numbers and tonnage has 
entirely changed within the last ten years here 
as everywhere else. In 1865 the 14,885 sailing- 
vessels carried 3,264,620 tons ; in 1874 the 16,489 
sailing-vessels carried only 1,840,364 tons. In 
1865 ^^ 2,076 steamers carried only 914,320 
tons : whereas in 1874 the 4,185 steamers carried 
2,525,776 tons. Twenty-two per cent of the ship- 
ping is British. 

The average annual value of goods imported 
into Turkey is estimated at $100,000,000, and the 
exports at about half that sum. There are no 
official returns of the foreign commerce. The 
principal import is of manufactured cotton goods 
from England, amounting in 1875 ^^ £>^fi^^iZ^Z' 



70 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

Iron is imported mainly from Belgium ; corn and 
flour, from Odessa; sugar, from Egypt; coal, from 
England ; petroleum, from the United States. 
The principal exports are wools, seeds, skins, and 
opium. The principal article exported to the 
United States is attar of roses. 

The railways in European Turkey are ' the 
Varna-Rustchuk, 138^ miles ; Kuslendji-Icherna- 
voda, 40 miles ; Constantinople-Ballova, 350 
miles; Demotica-Dede-Agatoh, 61 miles; Irnova- 
Yambola, 66 miles ; Banialuka-Doberlin, 64 
miles ; Salonica-Mitroritza, 225 miles. Total, 
944^ miles. In Asiatic Turkey: Smyrna-Aidin, 
82-^ miles ; Smyrna-Alasheir, 82 miles ; Haidar 
Pacha (Scutari)-Ismidt, 56 miles. Total, 22o|- 
miles. 

The total length of telegraph-lines is 17,618 
miles; and the length of wires, 31,230 miles. 

TRIBUTARIES OF TURKEY IN EUROPE. 

RouMANiA, formerly Wallachia and Moldavia. 
Ruler: Prince Karl L, son of the late Prince 
Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He was 
elected as Prince of Roumania loth May, 1866, 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 71 

and recognized by the Turkish Government nth 
July, 1866. The constitution now in force was 
prepared by an assembly elected by universal suf- 
frage in 1866. The legislative power is vested in 
a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. The exec- 
utive power is in the hands of the Prince, assisted 
by a council of five ministers, namely, of Foreign 
Affairs, the Interior, of War, of Finance, and of 
Justice. The revenue amounts to about $19,- 
000,000 per annum ; the expenditures, to a little 
more. 

The effective force of the territorial army in- 
cluded, in 1876, 22,463 infantry and 12, 184 cavalry. 
The population is estimated at about 4,000,000. 

The staple article of export to Great Britain is 
corn, amounting, in 1875, ^^ ^569?990- Manu- 
factured cotton goods of the value of ;^677,489 
were imported from great Britain in the same 
year. 

Servia : Ruler, Milan IV. Obrenovitch ; born 
1855 ; proclaimed in 1868 ; crowned, 1872. He 
was elected by the National Assembly of Servia to 
succeed his uncle, who was assassinated in 1868. 
The executive power of the government is vested 



72 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

in the prince, assisted by a council of five minis- 
ters. The legislative authority is vested in the 
Senate and the Skoupchtina, or House of Repre- 
sentatives. The estimates of 1875-76 place the 
revenue at ;^7o5,i34, and the expenditures at 
;^696,i37. The population by census of 1874 is 
1,352,522. The standing army consists of 4,000 
men. The national militia includes 70,000 men. 
The foreign trade is confined to Austria, Turkey, 
and Roumania. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 73 



TREATIES 



BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES. 

On the 17th April, 1824, a convention was con- 
cluded at St. Petersburg, between the United 
States and Russia, relative to navigation and 
fisheries of the Pacific. A provision in the treaty 
concerning establishments on the north-west coast 
of America was modified by the convention of 
1867. (See p. 664, '' Public Treaties.") 

On the i8th December, 1832, a treaty of com- 
merce was concluded at St. Petersburg. Art. I. 
provides for a reciprocal liberty of commerce and 
navigation between the two countries ; Art. II., 
that vessels shall be upon an equal footing ; Art. 
III. provides for equality of duties on imports ; 
Art. IV. defines the applicability of the stipula- 
tions to vessels of both countries ; Art. V. pro- 
vides for equality in exportations \ Art. VI. 
provides for equality of duties on produce of 



74 THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

either country, and for equality of prohibitions ; 
Art. VII. provides that Arts. II. to VI. inclu- 
sive shall not be applicable to coastwise navi- 
gation ; Art. VIII. provides for consular officers, 
with privileges and powers of the most favored 
nations, and with rights to settle certain disputes 
between masters and crews ; Art. IX. relates to 
deserters from ships-of-war and merchant-vessels ; 
Art. X. relates to disposal and inheritance of 
personal property; Art. XI provides that favors 
granted to other nations shall become common 
(" Public Treaties," pp. 666-669). 

On the 22d July, 1854, a convention was con- 
cluded at Washington relative to the rights of 
neutrals at sea. Art. I. declares that the two 
high contracting parties recognize as permanent 
and immutable the following principles ; to wit, 
I St, That free ships make free goods, that is to 
say, that the effects or goods belonging to sub- 
jects or citizens of a power or state at war are 
free from capture and confiscation when found 
on board of neutral vessels, with the exception 
of articles contraband of war ; 2d, That the prop- 
erty of neutrals on board an enemy's vessel is 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 75 

not subject to confiscation, unless the same be 
contraband of war. They engage to apply these 
principles to the commerce and navigation of all 
such states and powers as shall consent to adopt 
them on their part as permanent and immutable. 
Art. II. declares that the two parties reserve 
themselves to come to an ulterior understanding, 
as circumstances may require, with regard to the 
application and extension of the principles laid 
down in the first article. Art. III. provides that 
other nations acceding to the principles of the 
first article shall enjoy the same rights as the 
two contracting parties ("Public Treaties," pp. 
670-671). 

On the 30th March, 1867, a convention was 
concluded at Washington for the cession of the 
Russian Possessions in North America to the 
United States ("Public Treaties, pp. 671-673). 

On the 27th January, 1868, a treaty was con- 
cluded at Washington, supplementary to the treaty 
of commerce and navigation, providing for the 
protection of trade-marks, and designating the 
places where the same should be deposited 
(" Public Treaties," p. 674). 



76 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

TURKEY AND THE UNITED STATES. 

A treaty of commerce and navigation between 
the United States and the Ottoman Empire was 
concluded 7th of May, 1830. Art. I. provides, 
that the merchants of the two countries shall 
have in either country the rights and jDrivileges of 
the most favored nations. Art. II. provides for 
the establishment of consular officers in the two 
countries. Arts. III. and IV. relate to American 
vessels, the settlement of disputes, and the Turk- 
ish jurisdiction over American citizens. Art. V. 
provides that American vessels shall not take the 
flag of other powers, nor shall they grant their 
flag to vessels of other nations. Art. VI. provides 
for the exchange of courtesies between vessels-of- 
w^ar. Art. VII. provides that merchant-vessels of 
the United States shall have the same liberty 
as vessels of the most favored nations in passing 
the Canal of the Imperial Residence, and going 
and coming in the Black Sea. Art. VIII. pro- 
vides that merchant-ships shall not be impressed. 
Art. IX. relates to wrecks (^' Public Treaties," pp. 

583-585)- 

On the 25th Februar}^, 1862, an additional 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 77 

treaty of commerce and navigation was con- 
cluded at Constantinople. Art. I. confirms the 
privileges of citizens of the United States in the 
Ottoman dominions, and provides that all rights, 
privileges, and immunities granted to other 
powers shall be equally granted to and exer- 
cised and enjoyed by the citizens, vessels, com- 
merce, and navigation of the United States. 
Art. II. relates to the purchase of goods in the 
Ottoman Empire, by United-States citizens. Art. 

III. provides that citizens of the United States 
engaging in trade within the Turkish dominions 
shall be placed on the same footing as the 
most favored class of Ottoman subjects. Art. 

IV. provides for equality of duties on ex- 
ports, equality of prohibitions, and the limita- 
tion of export duty in the Ottoman dominions. 
Art. V. provides for equality of duties on im- 
ports, and the limitation of import duties in the 
Ottoman dominions. Art. VI. provides that arti- 
cles carried through the empire for importation 
into Moldo-Wallachia and Servia shall not pay 
duties until they reach those principalities. 
Art. VII. relates to warehousing, bounties, &c. 



78 THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

Art VIII. provides that vessels of the two coun- 
tries shall have equal rights in the importation 
of goods. Art. IX. relates to tonnage duties. 
Art. X. defines the nationality of vessels. Art. 
XI. provides for the free passage of the Darda- 
nelles. Art. XII. regulates the transit duty on 
articles carried through the Ottoman Empire. 
Art. XIII. defines the privileges of American 
traders in Turkey. Art. XIV. provides that to- 
bacco and salt shall not be included among 
the articles which citizens of the United States 
are permitted to import into Turkey. Art. XV. 
reserves to the Sublime Porte the right of issu- 
ing a general prohibition against the importation 
of gunpowder, cannon, arms of war, or military 
stores j but such prohibition will not come into 
operation until it shall have been officially noti- 
fied. The other articles are not of general 
interest. (See "Public Treaties," pp. 585-591.) 



THE EASTERN QUESTION. 79 



INTERNATIONAL RULES FOR THE 
GOVERNMENT OF NEUTRALS. 



The treaty of Washington, signed on the 8th 
May, 187 1, provided that the arbitrators appointed 
to settle the Alabama claims, so called, should, 
in deciding the matters submitted to them, be 
governed by the following rules, and by such 
principles of international law not inconsistent 
therewith, as the arbitrators should determine to 
have been applicable to the case. Rules : A 
neutral government is bound : First, to use due dili- 
gence to prevent the fitting-out, arming, or equip- 
ping, within its jurisdiction, of any vessel which it 
has reasonable ground to believe is intended to 
cruise, or to carry on war, against a power with 
which it is at peace, and also to use like dili- 
gence to prevent the departure from its jurisdic- 
tion of any vessel intended to cruise, or carry on 



8o THE EASTERN QUESTION, 

war, as above ; such vessel having been specially 
adapted, in whole or in part, within such jurisdic- 
tion, to warlike use ; secondly, not to permit or 
suffer either belligerent to make use of its ports 
or waters as the base of naval operations against 
the other, or for the purpose of the renewal or 
augmentation of military supplies or arms, or the 
recruitment of men ; thirdly, to exercise due 
diligence in its own ports and waters, and, as to 
all persons within its jurisdiction, to prevent any 
violation of the foregoing obligations and duties. 
("Annual Register,'' 187 1). 



THE EASTERN QUESTION, 8 1 

RUSSIAN LEGATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Mr. Nicolas Shiskin, Envoy Extraordinary and 

Mi?iister Plenipotentiary, 
Mr. Gregoire de Willamov, Secretary of Lega- 

Hon, 

UNITED STATES LEGATION IN RUSSIA. 

Mr. George H. Boker, Envoy Extraordinary 

and Minister Plenipotentiary, 
Mr. Hoffman Atkinson, Secretary of Legation, 

TURKISH LEGATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Gregoire Aristarchi Bey, Envoy Extraordi- 

nary and Minister Plenipoteritiary . 
Baltazzi Effendi, Secretary of Legation, 

UNITED STATES LEGATION IN TURKEY. 

Hon. Horace Maynard, Miiiister Resident, 
Mr. Eugene Schuyler, Secretary of Legation, 




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